Android Tablet Update

Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most upgraded apps for the week. I’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to look at what people are actually updating, and not focus on which apps have the most installs.

To find the most updated apps, I turn to AppAware. It’s a great tool that shows me which apps have active support from their developers and sometimes reminds me of an old app that I might have removed long ago. Make sure to install it so your activity can help determine our weekly top 10 list.

This week I’m going to do things a little different. I normally filter out apps that have over 10 million installs, but I’m going to make an exception for popular apps that had significant updates. I hope you enjoy this weekly feature and discover some apps that you might find useful.

AppAware – Version 3.1.3

AppAware Find the Best Apps 42matters AG - AppAware PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Great new Discover screen customized for you – with Top Apps, Top Games and news from Android And Me.
• Feeds (Worldwide, Around Me and From Friends) are now listed in the Browse section.

Speaking of AppAware, these guys just released an update that includes a new home screen. Users can now easily browse the top apps and games of the day, featured apps, and news from Android and Me. If you love discovering new apps, then AppAware is a must download.

Songifty – Version 1.0.3

Songify Smule PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Fixed bug which sometimes led to a force-close when returning to the app after a while.
• Fixed bug which sometimes led to crash when accessing the Song Store page, and occasionally at other times.
• Greatly reduced cache usage
• No longer request following permissions: FINE (GPS) LOCATION, READ SENSITIVE LOG DATA
• Critical bug fix to make app more stable

Songifty is a new app that turns speech into music automatically. It has been available on iOS for awhile and already racked up 9 million downloads, but this is the first time it’s available on Android. If you want to see what this app can do, then check out the AutoTune the News series on YouTube.

KakaoStory – Version 0.9.1

KakaoStory kakao PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Supports English
• ‘Recent Notifications’ are shown separately
• Font size setting available
• Recently added friends are shown separately
• Landscape mode disabled due to bugs discovered on certain devices
• Fixed an error that caused the app to terminate when entering detailed view of a story
• Fixed an error that caused texts to shake in ‘Feeds’ tab
• Other minor bugs fixed

KakaoStory appears to be the Korean version of Instagram. It has some unique features like the ability to express your emotions on friends’ stories using 5 different emotions available. A recent updated added support for English, so give it a look if you love social picture apps.

ShoeBox – Version 2.0.4

ShoeBox 1000memories PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Fix issues with Facebook login
• Improve stability
• Addresses display bug on HTC One
• Ensures photos are saved to your phone’s Gallery (ShoeBox album)
• Fixes issue with large screens not displaying the captured image
• Improves reliability of upload

ShoeBox is another app new to Android that claims to be the “fastest way to scan your old paper photos and share them with family and friends.” It uses your camera to scan in photos and has special edge detection and perspective correction features to make sure your pics turn out ok. The app is backed by 1000memories.com, so all your photos are backed up to the cloud. The latest update fixed a number of bugs including Facebook login and support for the HTC One.

ES File Explorer 1.6.1.6

ES File Explorer EStrongs Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Support Google Drive
• Shortcuts,encoding for FTP Server…
• Use https for Box.net

Yesterday we praised Solid Explorer as being one of the nicest looking file managers, but ES File Explorer easily has more features. This week they added support for Google Drive, which joins a long list of other cloud storage services they  already support. The app has over 30 million downloads and still maintains an average review of 4.7.

Maxthon Web Browser – Version 2.6.5

Maxthon Android Web Browser Maxthon Web Browser PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• [New Features]
• +Hide bottom toolbar
• +Brand new app icon
• [Improvements]
• *Fixed WAP page display problems for certain HTC model
• *Improved UI for favorite/bookmark button on the left of address bar
• *Fixed crash problem from skin system
• *Other fixes and improvements

There is a long list of alternative web browsers, and Maxthon is one of the better reviewed ones with an average score of 4.7. The PC version has already gained 550 million downloads, but the newer Android version is still pretty new and just passed 1 million installs. I can’t find any unique stand-out features not offered on other browsers, but some of you may still enjoy the overall look and feel of Maxthon.

Bump – Version 3.3.0

Bump Bump Technologies, Inc PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Now bump photos from your phone to your computer!
• Save them to your hard drive or get a short link to share wherever you want.

Bump is an app that allows you to share content between two phones by physically bumping them together. This week the dev team added a new feature that allows users to share photos to a PC by bumping their phone to their keyboard space bar. I know a lot of our readers enjoy Bump so I wanted to share this interesting update, but I haven’t ever found a real need to use the app.

Google Shopper – Version 2.4

Shopper Google Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Search history and search suggestions for faster searching as you shop
• Weekly sales at featured local stores
• A new homepage with popular products and offers

Google Shopper helps you find information on millions of products. This week Google updated the app with a new homepage that shows popular products and offers. I have used the app on and off, but I think I still prefer ShopSavvy.

GTasks: To Do List – Version 1.0.1

GTasks: To Do List | Task List Dato PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• New Android 4.0 UI.
• Select google account on title bar.
• Batch set due date& move to other list & indent & delete etc.
• Improve drag&drop sort
• Search
• Bugs fix

Google still doesn’t have a native app for their tasks service, but GTasks is about as close as you can get. A recent updated added a new Android 4.0 theme, improved drag and drop sort, and fixed a few bugs. If you are looking for a simple to-dos manager that mimics the Ice Cream Sandwich Holo theme and syncs with Google Tasks, this might be your app.

Zillow Real Estate & Rentals – Version varies with device

Zillow Real Estate & Rentals Zillow.com PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

• Get mortgage calculators, real-time mortgage rates & personalized loan quotes
• Draw your own search area. Narrow your search region by drawing a boundary around specific streets & save those custom-drawn searches
• Map & sort your favorites list
• Map your notifications on both Android phones & tablets
• Select & compare favorites on Android tablets
• View complete price & tax history on home detail pages
• Bug fixes to filters

Next time you think about moving, make sure you give Zillow Real Estate a try. It offers one of the best experiences I have tried for searching homes and apartments, and the app is constantly updated with new enhancements. The latest version includes a mortgage calculator, the ability to draw a search area on a map, and the ability to setup notifications for properties you are watching.

Can our community help discover the next great Android app? Welcome to a new experiment called #thenextinstall where we try to see if we can find an Android app in the rough, and boost its installs and exposure to new highs.

We took a couple weeks off since I’ve been traveling, but last time we did this our community selected Shot Control, a camera app designed to help serious photographers take better photographs. The developer Peter Daly is an awesome guy and he said our users “pushed the app past the 1k install tier, provided awesome feedback, and have been great to work with.” This week he rolled out a new update which fixed a ton of bugs on the HTC One, so check it out if you need an advanced camera app.

Week 5 Winner: Solid Explorer Beta

This week’s we had another clear winner emerge. Solid Explorer Beta by Krzysztof G?odowski is easily the best looking file manager we have ever seen on Android. I installed it several weeks back and it is now my go to file manager on all my Android devices.

Highlights of Solid Explorer include:

• Two independent panels for browsing
• Drag and Drop inside and between panels
• FTP, SFTP and SMB/CIFS clients
• File sharing via FTP
• Support for ZIP, TAR.GZ, TAR.BZ2 and RAR archives
• Creating ZIP and TAR archives
• Dropbox and Box support
• Bookmarks
• Root access
• Indexed search, also available from the system (that means that you can search for files from the Google Search widget/app)
• Detailed file and directory information

Grab Solid Explorer from the link below and I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Even though the app is still in beta, I found the overall experience easier to use that previous file managers I’ve tried. Be sure to leave your feedback for the dev, so he can improve it with future updates.

Solid Explorer Beta Krzysztof G?odowski PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Week 6 Challengers

Pair

Pitch: Pair is the easiest way to stay in touch with the person you love, making it easy to share the little things in life with each other. It creates a timeline just for the two of you, where you can post cute video messages and photos that no one else will see.

Pair TenthBit Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Flud News

Pitch: Flud is the first truly social news reader. For the first time ever, the things you read about give you topical credibility among your friends and followers. Your Flud profile allows you to discover your news personality and become a credible source of information.

Flud News Flud PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

FlyRights

Pitch: FlyRights provides a quick and easy way to report complaints of air travel discrimination in real time, right after the incident occurs. With this application you have the option of reporting your complaint directly to the Transportation Security Administration/Department of Homeland Security so that their offices of civil rights are aware of your complaint and can investigate it.

FlyRights The Sikh Coalition PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Savored

Pitch: Savored saves you up to 40% off your food and drink at hundreds of great restaurants across the country – your reservations are confirmed instantly, and best of all – they’re free!

Savored Savored PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

GO Backup

Pitch: Backup all your contacts,messages and apps. Stable,fast,simple and totally free.

GO Backup GO Launcher EX PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Metal Sniffer

Pitch: Find magnetic fields and use it to detect metals or magnets! This app detects nearby electromagnetic fields using the phone’s built-in magnetometer/compass.

Metal Sniffer ?Metal Detector? Icechen1 PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Lowe’s

Pitch: Finally, an app worthy of your toolbox. The handy Lowe’s app allows you to shop for your favorite products, review ratings, create lists, locate the closest store, and access inspiring photos and how-to videos.

Lowe's Lowe's PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Everyme

Pitch: Everyme is the private social network. We believe most stories are meant to be shared with your closest friends and family, not with 500 random acquaintances. With Everyme, you can share like you do in real life, in intimate Circles.

Everyme Everyme PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Uniqlo

Pitch: UNIQLO WAKE UP is an innovative new social alarm app that aims to make waking up every day an enjoyable experience. Wake up with music that changes with the weather. Share the start of your day.

UNIQLO WAKE UP UNIQLO CO., LTD. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

AppBrain Ad Detector

Pitch: Free your phone from potential concerns! This app detects all annoyances of apps installed on your phone, such as Push Notifications, Desktop icon spam or privacy concerns.

AppBrain Ad Detector Swiss Codemonkeys PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s next? How can I participate?

If you want to play along, then join the league of app addicts.

• Join Android and Me and suggest new apps in this weekly thread
• Download AppAware and let it track your new app installs
• Share this post with a friend who has an Android device and ask them to try out one of the apps from the list

Over the coming week, we will continue to monitor all the apps and see which generate the most buzz. We will be watching the installs, download clicks, review scores, coverage on other sites, and more to see which app comes out on top.

Next week we will name the winning app, and then put it up against 10 new apps to repeat the process.

Early this month Google released a major update for their Google+ mobile app, but it was only available on Apple’s iOS. Today Google announced that redesigned Google+ was finally making its way to Android.

We continue to work toward a simpler, more beautiful Google, and today we're accelerating these efforts with a new Google+ app for Android phones.Vic GundotraSenior Vice President

The big new feature is that mobile users can now start a hangout from their phone, but lots of other changes were included as well. New improvements include:

• Visual refresh of the stream and improved navigation
• Initiate a hangout from the main menu
• Support for ringing hangout notification
• Support for post editing
• Messenger suggestions for people you may know
• Download photos from posts or Messenger conversations

Grab the latest update from the Google Play Store link below and let us know what you think. Don’t forget to add +Android and Me to your circles if you want to chat and share Android related stories with us.

Google+ Google Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Gallery

Slacker Radio is one of our favorite streaming internet radio services for Android. Slacker Radio is a Pandora-like service that offers streaming of their ever-growing arsenal of songs and albums. Users can create radio stations based on a band, song, or genre, and listen to what they’re currently in the mood for at any given time.

Slacker Radio was kind enough to give us a few subscriptions to pass along to our readers. Up for grabs is one year-long subscription and two three-month subscriptions to Slacker Radio Premium, which provides unlimited song skipping and removes all ads from your stations.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post no later than 3:00 PM CST on Tuesday, May 22nd. You will need either an active account or to leave your email in the appropriate field when leaving a comment in order to be considered for the giveaway so we can contact you if you’ve won.

Good luck!

Last year we reported that Google was working on a secret project codenamed Majel that was meant to be a direct response to Apple’s Siri. A trusted source told us a working Android app was already in testing and we thought it could debut in December, but then Alexia Tsotsis of TechCrunch reported that the service would be called Assistant and it was slated for a Q4 2012 release.

This week Google introduced the Knowledge Graph which attempts to make search smarter by using context to understand exactly what you mean and give you back exactly what you want. Google revealed that their system now contains more than 500 million objects (landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more), as well as more than 3.5 billion facts about and relationships between these different objects.

“We hope this added intelligence will give you a more complete picture of your interest, provide smarter search results, and pique your curiosity on new topics,” said Amit Singhal, SVP, Engineering. “We’re proud of our first baby step which will enable us to make search more intelligent, moving us closer to the ‘Star Trek computer‘ that I’ve always dreamt of building.”

Lots of engineers at Google are obsessed with the Star Trek computer, and the next logical step is a natural voice input and output system to interact with their Knowledge Graph. If they were already testing it late last year, then I fully expect to see a working demo of Android Assistant at Google IO next month.

Check out the latest Google video below and let us know what you think of their Knowledge Graph. Are you ready for Assistant to become a part of your daily Android experience?

We learned last week that Flipboard for Android was going to be a Galaxy S III exclusive when the device launches later this month. Of course, the development community knew that as soon as someone got their grubby hands on the Galaxy S III it would be posted somewhere for easy download for any device. Turns out, that’s exactly what happened, and the apk for Flipboard has been posted on the xda developers forums.

Those brave enough to install applications from unknown sources can head over to xda and install Flipboard on your device. While we normally don’t promote app “piracy,” Flipboard is a free iOS application and will launch as a free Android application after the exclusivity period exists, and don’t believe that you can pirate something that’s free.

If you do give Flipboard for Android a download, let us know what you think of the application in the comments below.

Every week we cover Android gaming on Wednesday, followed by Top 10 app updates on Friday. Now every Monday (or Tuesday) we will look back and see which ones were the most crowd-pleasing among our audience. Read on for the 10 most popular Android apps from your peers.

1. AirDroid

AirDroid SAND STUDIO PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Debuting at the top spot in our weekly roundup is AirDroid. This app is a fast, free service that lets you wirelessly manage your Android device from your favorite browser. The developer released a major update this week that added a ton of new features. Our very own Clark loves this app and uses it daily, so check it out if you need a way to manager your phone from your desktop PC.

2. AfterFocus

AfterFocus MotionOne PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Wow, really guys? AfterFocus remains in the top 2 spots on our site for the 4rd week in a row. We know you love camera apps and the developer just released another update, but even I’m surprised that this app has such staying power. If you haven’t tried it yet and want to create DSLR-style background blurred photos, then download it from the link below.

3. Shot Control

Shot Control StarvingMind PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Shot Control won week 3 of #thenextinstall and it jumped all the way up to our 3rd most popular app this week. If you prefer to just point and shoot pics and know nothing about photography, then this camera app might not be for you. However, if you love to play with all your camera settings to get that perfect shot, then Shot Control is easily worth the $1.99 asking price.

4. iris

iris. (alpha) Dexetra PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Iris is the original Siri-clone and this week it saw a significant update that added several new features. I’m not a fan of the apps that let you talk with your phone, but this is one of the best reviewed ones with an average score of 4.2.

5. LogiType

LogiType Tablet Keyboard InfoMason PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

LogiType claims they have a “new groundbreaking technology to give you the easiest and fastest touch-typing keyboard available for Android tablets.” I haven’t tried it out yet, but it has an average review score of 4.3 and I’ve heard mostly positive things about it. If you have an Android tablet and want to test out a new input method, check it out and let us know what you think.

6. Schemer

Schemer Google Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Google’s own Schemer finally opened up signups last week and new users are quickly joining the service. The app claims to help its users “start doing more awesome stuff.” The app integrates with Google+ and uses your circles to suggest the perfect scheme for the moment, which sounds like a cool idea. I’ve had access to Schemer for a couple months now and I have yet to really explore it, so maybe now is a good time to show it some love.

7. Apex Launcher

Apex Launcher Android Does PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Last week Nova Launcher appeared in our Top 10 list, and this week Apex Launcher makes an appearance. Both of these launchers are the new kids on the block and target devices running Android 4.0. They provide a ton of tweaks for performance and customizations, but Apex has a slightly higher review score. Both are worth checking out if you love mixing your home screen up.

8. Weatherwise

Weatherwise Local Wisdom PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Weatherwise returns this week but drops six spots down to number eight.. This weather widget looks pretty cool, but the free version only comes with a single skin. Additional themes will cost you $0.99. Average review scores have been stead at 4.3, so the early users have enjoyed the app thus far.

9. Oven Break

Oven Break Com2uS PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Oven Break from Com2uS is the only game to crack the Top 10 this week. It’s free so I gave it a try, but I was bored within minutes. Maybe the game gets better as you progress, but it didn’t keep my attention long enough to find out.

10. Solid Explorer Beta

Solid Explorer Beta Krzysztof G?odowski PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Solid Explorer is amazing. The app is still in beta, but it’s already one of the best looking file managers I have tried on Android. I guarantee you this app will return next week and it should be in the top three.  Try it out right now and tell me it’s not your new favorite file manager.

Can our community help discover the next great Android app? Welcome to a new experiment called #thenextinstall where we try to see if we can find an Android app in the rough, and boost its installs and exposure to new highs.

Carrier Coverage daily installs.

Last week our community selected Carrier Coverage, an app that attempts to answer the question ‘Which carrier is best for you?’, which is a pretty ambitious project. We thought it was a cool concept, but the developer might have a hard time finding success. The app hasn’t been updated since February and we discovered there are competing apps like Sensorly that have better reviews and a larger following. Not all our picks will turn into winners, but at least we helped boost Carrier Coverage’s daily installs to new highs.

Week 4 Winner: Shot Control

This week was a very close call, but Shot Control by StarvingMind came out on top as our weekly winner. Our audience has a thing for camera apps, and Shot Control is one of the most details camera apps to come around in awhile. It was designed to help serious photographers take better photographs.

If you prefer to just point and shoot pics and know nothing about photography, then this app might not be for you. However, if you love to play with all your camera settings to get that perfect shot, then Shot Control is easily worth the $1.99 asking price.

Most customers who have reviewed the app have all praised the developer. Comments include, “Dev seems to very proactive in wanting to make this app stand head and shoulders above else”, “The developer responded to my email within minutes”, “The developer is excellent about responding to issues and questions”, and “He is clearly committed to making this the most flat-out functional camera app on the market. Get it!”

I went ahead and purchased the app just to support the developer, but I haven’t had much time this week to play around with it. Now that it’s on all my devices, I’m sure I’ll be spending some more time with it soon.

Key features include:

• Multiple Touch Focus/Meter regions on ICS (on supported devices with Android 4.0)
• Direct access to exposure control and zoom
• One tap access to ISO, White Balance, Scene Modes, Focus Modes, and Flash Mode Settings (based on device abilities)
• Custom mapping for hardware buttons (like volume down for focus, volume up for shutter)
• Pre-focus function
• 35mm style film roll integrated with the viewfinder display
• Star your favorite photos, which will be added to their own “Stars – Shot Control” group in the stock gallery app on most phones.
• With “Instant Upload” enabled in Google+, photos with stars will be “instant uploaded” to G+/Picasa as if they were taken with the stock camera app.

Shot Control StarvingMind PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Week 4 Challengers

Browse over the new app suggestions and let us know if any make it on to your device.

Time2Go

Pitch: Never be late again. Notifications when it is time to leave to make it to your events on time.

Time2Go Colin Fahy PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

PicShop Lite Photo Editor

Pitch: Beautiful design combined with tons of editing options and dozen’s of filters make this the premier mobile editing suite on the market.

PicShop Lite - Photo Editor esDot Development Studio PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

LogiType Tablet Keyboard

Pitch: LogiType uses a new groundbreaking technology to give you the easiest and fastest touch-typing keyboard available for Android tablets.

LogiType Tablet Keyboard InfoMason PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Smart Statusbar

Pitch: Smart Statusbar is the first and only Status bar enabler in full screen app. You can now reveal status bar in any Full screen app with gesture.

Smart Statusbar Kiumiu.CA PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

App Folder Advance

Pitch: Organize your home screen quick and easy. Group icons and place them in a folder.

App Folder Advance AY Electronics PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Solid Explorer

Pitch: Solid Explorer brings to you a new file browsing experience. This is the most attractive, eye catching and intuitive file manager for the Android.

Suggested by: amgala

Solid Explorer Beta Krzysztof G?odowski PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

SMS Flash

Pitch: Instant SMS notification without stealing focus! Unlike SMS popup, you can touch through the displayed SMS and continue interaction with the screen. Specially built for gamers.

SMS Flash xenonex PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Zillow Rentals

Pitch: Find apartments and houses for rent with this app designed for renters in a hurry and on the go. Zillow Rentals is the easiest way to find your next apartment or rental home.

Zillow Rentals - Houses & Apts Zillow.com PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Make Me a Pirate

Pitch: Arrrr you a real pirate? Just take a photo and look like a pirate within seconds!

Make Me A Pirate Swiss Codemonkeys PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Schemer

Pitch: Schemer. The beginning of everything worth doing. Are you curious? Ambitious? Daring? Start doing more awesome stuff by using Schemer.

Schemer Google Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s next? How can I participate?

If you want to play along, then join the league of app addicts.

• Join Android and Me and suggest new apps in this weekly thread
• Download AppAware and let it track your new app installs
• Share this post with a friend who has an Android device and ask them to try out one of the apps from the list

Over the coming week, we will continue to monitor all the apps and see which generate the most buzz. We will be watching the installs, download clicks, review scores, coverage on other sites, and more to see which app comes out on top.

Next week we will name the winning app, and then put it up against 10 new apps to repeat the process.

Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most upgraded apps for the week. I’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to look at what people are actually updating, and not focus on which apps have the most installs.

To find the most updated apps, I turn to AppAware. It’s a great tool that shows me which apps have active support from their developers and sometimes reminds me of an old app that I might have removed long ago. Make sure to install it so your activity can help determine our weekly top 10 list.

This week I’m going to do things a little different. I normally filter out apps that have over 10 million installs, but I’m going to make an exception for popular apps that had significant updates. I hope you enjoy this weekly feature and discover some apps that you might find useful.

TuneWiki – Version 4.0.0

TuneWiki - Lyrics with Music TuneWiki PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. New ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ inspired design!
2. Major performance improvements
3. NOTE: There is an issue on some Android tablets. We’re working on a fix ASAP.
4. As always, send feedback and ideas to ideas@tunewiki.com

TuneWiki is the music player that lets you get lyrics instantly translated into 40+ languages. This week they rolled out a major update that includes a new Android 4.0 inspired design. I tried out the new version and it appears the performance has been greatly improved. I was able to ID songs pretty quick and it pulled up the lyrics right away. If you have never tried TuneWiki, they also have a social network that lets you comment on and discuss the meaning of lyrics. It’s definitely a unique experience for music fans and it’s free, so check it out.

AirDroid – Version 1.0.5

AirDroid SAND STUDIO PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. Bug fixes
2. Added web link login via web.airdroid.com
3. Added QR code scanning for easier login
4. Enhanced secure connection option with https
5. Added multiple desktops
6. Added various widgets
7. Added “Speed upload” and “Speed install” on desktop
8. Added Drag&Drop support for files/folder upload (Chrome)
9. Added device picture matching for certain devices
10. Added Videos management
11. Added realtime device screenshot
12. Optimized display and management of files, photos, music

Just yesterday we previewed AirDroid and then the developer pushed out the latest update hours later. This is the first upgrade since last year and it’s a pretty big one. If you want to manager you phone from your desktop browser, this is the ultimate app.

Waze – Version 3.0.2.8

Waze Social GPS & Live Traffic Waze PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. Pioneer AppRadio support
2. Fixes for Motorola Defy and Milestone
3. Fix for application launch via API

Waze has been around since the early days of Android, but we haven’t really talked about it as much since Google Navigation was released. It still has a pretty strong following with it’s social features that connect you to other drivers. The latest update is rather minor, but we wanted to give Waze a shout out for pushing community-based traffic and navigation.

iris. – Version 4.5.1

iris. (alpha) Dexetra PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. Removed Notification(Airpush) ads. (fixed small bugs related to it)
2. Upload images to facebook
3. Set alarm and calender events.
4. Open other apps.
5. Google search revamped.
6. Upgraded twitter and facebook feature for easy access.
7. Bug fixes for smoother user experience
8. Press back key cancel action

Iris is one of the original Siri clones, and it’s also one of the best looking. The latest update killed some annoying ads, improved integration with social networks, and enhanced the overall user experience.

AfterFocus – Version 1.1.0

AfterFocus MotionOne PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. Supports finer brush in manual mode
2. (After zooming, brush size remains as it is)
3. Fixes the distorted image In editing/saving on some phones
4. Fixes the bug that image taken by front camera is not centered when editing

As long as AfterFocus remains one of the most popular apps in our community, we will keep reporting on the latest news. This week the developer released a new update that improves the brush control in manual mode. This makes it easier to zoom in on images and make selections for background and foreground. We still expect a Pro version to be released this month.

GO Weather Widget – Version 1.24

GO Weather Widget GO Launcher EX PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. (New)You can set the start time and ending time of auto refresh
2. (New)You can set the date style in the setting display
3. (New)You switch the cities circularly in GO Widgets.Open it in the setting display
4. (Fix)When changing the theme, it shows that the incomplete.

Weather widgets are always all the rage and the GO dev team has one of the nicer looking sets. The latest update lets you control when the weather forecast is refreshed and includes enhanced support for multiple cities. There are a ton of themes available, so hopefully you won’t get bored with this one.

Groupon – Version 1.14.2140

Groupon - Daily Deals, Coupons Groupon, Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. Push notifications enhancements
2. Added Merchants’ reviews
3. Added support for Samsung Galaxy Note and other tablets
4. Added support for Portugal, Greece, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico, Romania
5. Performance improvements and bug fixes

Like many of you, I have caught the Groupon bug. It used to annoy me with notifications, but the latest update provides users with more control over that. I still think half the daily deals are crap, but there are some real gems in there sometimes.

Apex Launcher – Version 1.1.1

Apex Launcher Android Does PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. Added option to keep Apex in memory
2. Added dock options for tablets
3. Long press menu key to start search
4. Improved tablet transition effect
5. Fixed margin settings on tablets
6. Fixed wallpaper issue under single screen mode
7. Fixed a bug with desktop data backup/restore
8. Other bug fixes and improvements
9. Updated translations
10. New permissions are used for unread count notifications in the pro version.

Last week we featured Nova Launcher, so it’s only fair we share Apex Launcher this week. This home screen replacement tool is also targeted at Android 4.0 devices and focuses on performance and an insane amount of customizations. I’ve grown tired of most of these home screen launchers, but they are great if you love to tweak out your home screen.

TripIt – Version 2.4.1

TripIt - Travel Organizer TripIt, Inc. PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new in this version:

1. Finally! View your Past Trips while you’re on the go
2. Note: All of these updates are for the Android phone only.
3. Various bug fixes and usability enhancements

I travel a lot for work, and I never leave home without making sure my TripIt account is synced. It automatically imports all your travel itinerary and helps you keep up with your flight and hotel information. I rely on it so much, that I can’t travel without it now. The latest update lets you view previous trips and fixes various bugs.

Equalizer – Version 3.1.9

Equalizer Smart Android Apps, LLC PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

What’s new since version 3.1.7:

1. New Guided Tour and Tips page, aiming at making users more familiar with the app and how to use it properly.
2. Available now to selected GoogleTV devices.
3. Downloaded skins can now be applied from the Download skin page, simply click on the “Apply Skin” button after download finishes.
4. New Equalizer icon! Special thanks to Keval Kankotiya

We know music apps are always popular, so we thought we should share the latest update to Equalizer. This app provides a ton of presets, multiple skins, support for Google TV, and some nice looking widgets. If you are an audiophile, this is a must download.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I own an iPad to go along with the 3 Android tablets currently on my desk. There are just several applications available for the iPad that haven’t yet made their way to Android tablets, or (perhaps, worse) as scaled up Android phone applications that are not pleasant to use.

One application I use religiously to consume a multitude of content on the iPad. Flipboard presents a personalized magazine out of information being shared with you on RSS feeds and social networks, and presents it in a photo-centric way. Flipboard integrates with Pocket and Instapaper, applications that allow you to save stories for later consumption.

In short, I’ve been hoping for ages that Flipboard would be coming to Android, and it appears the wait will soon be over. The newly-unveiled Samsung Galaxy S III will have an exclusive Flipboard application for a period of time, and Flipboard will then travel to various Android devices after a few months. You can sign up to be notified of when Flipboard is fully-available for Android by visiting their website.

We’ll bring you the latest from Flipboard for Android as more information is unveiled. Stay tuned!